Cp dirtbowl/Offense/Capturing the Points
Stage 1 First Point Recommended Team Composition: *2 Healers *2 Rocketmen *1 Firebug *2 Overweights You probably will not need a superburst to exit your spawn. if there are heavy medics in front of your base, you should be able to easily take them out without a superburst. It's difficult to spam the exits of your spawn so save that superburst. The superburst needs to be popped when you break to the point. Firebug '''is the most efficient at this, but '''Runner, Deto, Rocketman, Overweight, and Q/C can work just as well. Your priorities are any autoguns and healers on the point, although if they are too far to reach then go for anyone near. The pair that secured the point should move ahead a little to get rid of retreating enemies and to make sure they aren't setting up in the corridors. Everyone else gets on the point. If one or both healers popped their supercharge, the time and damage required to lock the point is a perfect time to charge a second superburst, since once you secure the point, it's very hard for the enemy to push you off. Watch out for any lingering infiltrators who will be looking to stab the healer. Healers 'should stay sharp for the stab, '''Detos '''lay traps on the point if necessary, and everyone else watch for revolver spam, stabs, or cloaked blood. Securing this point should not be too difficult: if it takes more than one minute to pile on the point the rest of the fight is going to be a struggle if not impossible. Engineer/Overweight spam is very common on the first point. '''Rocketman '''will help immensely to stop the overweights and detonators can beat poorly placed autoguns. '''Rocketman '''also works to spam into the point since there's a large straight line straight into the heart of the point, as well as spam down the corridors to prevent enemy reinforcement. The best bet is a superburst since the first point is so easy to ''keep once you've gotten on it. On the other hand, unsuperbursted '''Runners, Constructors, and Rifleman 'to an extent are useless during this phase. Second Point Recommended Team Composition: *2 Healers *2 Rocketmen *1 Detonator *1 Overweight *1 Rifleman The initial capture of the first point is the best opportunity to capture the second point, before the enemy team can shape up (this counts for all dirtbowl stages). If you have 2 superbursts ready, pop a burst to ''break to the point. If your entire team can keep the point, the main problems are suicidal firebug rushes (from up top or over the crate), detonators spamming over the crate, spamming rocketmen from the left, and random infiltrator stabs. Make sure there is enough spam to cover over the crate and from above, have at least one person ready to assist the left of the point, and try to kill infiltrators before they can stab. If you can get two '''Overweights '''on the point and keep them alive, your victory is all but assured. Getting to that point can be difficult if not after the initial rush. A blue team that is pushed back will often resort to one of three things: constructor spam, rocketman spam, or rifleman spam. In all three cases, you want at least one decent rocketman on your team, and one or two riflemen depending on the severity of the rifleman spam. '''Riflemen '''can either be a combat rifleman or go up top to the sniping posts. Be warned that if you go up top, you're the main target for other riflemen and infiltrators who happen to sneak by, and you have essentially no help unless a healer goes up there to tag with you. You get much better shots behind the crates than if you were on the ground though, so take your pick. Combat rifleman get many more shots onto the point itself and can deal with riflemen spamming onto their teammates, and can get healed as well. Generally, the better you are, the more you prefer going on the ground, but if you aren't yet a competent rifleman, going up on the posts makes it easier to land shots. '''Runners '''are kind of useless if your enemy has any competent riflemen. If not, they can do some harassment up top and kill the constructors up above the point. This isn't exactly a good tactic and don't choose runner unless you're VERY good with him. '''Detonators '''are a mixed bag. They can deal with constructors and rocketmen well, but the riflemen spam is too much for detonators, so only choose detonator if your riflemen are good or if the enemy riflemen are limited. '''Constructors '''are mostly useless due to the open space until your team gets on the point. Set up the autogun to the left of the point and the autogun will do much to ensure your team's victory. Until then, your main role is to set up the autogun as close as you can and guard from infiltrators. As for the assault classes, a '''Rocketman '''will do a world of good, while the other three can be used to similar degrees of success and are mostly interchangeable. Stage 2 First Point Recommended Team Composition: *2 Healers *1 Rocketman *1 Detonator *1 Firebug *1 Rifleman *1 Runner Contrary to the first stage, you're going to need at least one superburst to even get out the door. Overweight, rocketman, and autogun spam are rampant on your spawn door and you can lose a lot of time trying to get out without one. One superbursted player is probably not going to break through all the defenses, but your best bet for a superburst is a '''detonator '''or a '''rocketman. Both can clear out the autoguns and take out a few players along the way, securing the exit and letting your team pass through. Of course, a firebug works just as well if they don't have a lot of players up top where the firebug can't reach. The first point will most likely require a second superburst to get through. If you see a lot of spam on the point or getting to the point, you need to burst. If you managed to kill a lot of enemies at the spawn doors, the superburst won't be immediately necessary, though you will probably need it once they start rolling back. Riflemen, rocketmen, and detonators all have a field day with spamming onto the point so you will need appropriate countermeasures. A runner '''is the most versatile for dealing with these threats up front, even better if he has a healer to work with, though he will have a hard time with the detonators. '''Q/C and Rocketman 'combo is a great way to defend against rifleman and detonators, and good healing and shooting from the Rocketman can limit the damage taken from rocketspam. '''Detonators '''and '''firebugs '''need to keep the rocketspam away from their team, but a superbursted and advanced '''firebug '''or '''Q/C '''takes care of all these threats easily, at the cost of a superburst. '''Rifleman '''can also stop the enemy from getting into those cubbyholes and spamming. In particular, '''Overweights'aren't useful during this phase of the fight. They are at the mercy of most classes who can out range him with little concern. 'Constructor '''also sees little use, since by the time he can set up an autogun to protect the first point, the first point will be all but captured. You can try to build far up ahead but it's quite hard to do without any healer support. Watch out for random infiltrator stabs. There are plenty of locations for infiltrators to hide here and sneak in for a stab, so stay frosty. Second Point Recommended Team Composition: *2 Healers *1 Rocketman *1 Detonator *2 Overweights *1 Constructor The hardest point to capture in my opinion. The distance from your spawn, the potential for spam, and the horrible terrain makes it very difficult to push far, and to boot the point has a retarded perch for riflemen, constructors, rocketmen to spam the living shit out of your team. Just about all the standard spam shit will work on you and at this point the enemies will probably have superbursts at the ready. To top things off, any mistake can lead to the enemy rolling you all the way back to the middle or even to the first point. You're going to have to burn through superbursts to get close to the point. Once you are inside the shack, the next superburst should be the one that breaks to the point and takes out as many defenses as you possibly can. Only do this when your entire team is ready for this. Don't superburst and break to the point if your team is unprepared since this will be a serious setback. Any screwup can lead to you having to get to the shack again. '''Constructors '''and '''Overweights '''are VITAL during this phase. Autoguns will keep any non-superburst from tearing through your team, '''Overweights'will also keep any non-superburst from tearing through your team, and make an excellent superburst during this phase. The small corridors and crates means this is a war of attrition. Autoguns have the bonus of saving the team from having to push all the way back to the shack if a few of your teammates happen to die. '''Healers: DO NOT BREAK THE MEDIBEAM. The terrain makes it very easy to break, so you need to stick very close to whoever you're healing. If the patient looks like he wants to advance and take some damage, MAKE SURE THE MEDIBEAM WILL NOT BREAK WHEN HE DOES SO. A little caution will do a world of good and prevent your entire team from collapsing. Detonators '''are amazing during this phase. They can attack safely (go for healers and autoguns when possible), and can deny rocketspam AND superbursts. To deny superbursts, you need to explode a sticky above a crate just as they try to jump, so the knockback pushes them back down. You can also do this to separate the medibuddy from the healer and stop the superburst from destroying your team. More often than not during this phase, '''detonators '''will be the only safe way to break to the point without a superburst. Take out traps when necessary, and use traps when you don't want your enemy advancing too far (you shouldn't be laying traps larger than a few stickies, however) '''Rocketman '''can work very well during this phase, being able to counter rocketspam and rocketjump up to the shack where they can rain unholy hell onto the perch and point. Due to the crowded nature of the terrain, they will be poor at stopping firebugs, Q/C, or other advancing classes, so make sure you have '''Overweight/Firebug support or else fall back and let the rockets eat some space in front of you. Firebugs '''and '''Q/C can work well in this situation, but choosing between either depends on what kind of threat the enemy poses. If there are a lot of rocketmen and firebugs, firebug '''is the way to go. If there are a lot of overweights, constructors, and detonators, and your team is made of '''Rocketmen, then Q/C is the way to go. If you've broken all the way to the point, firebugs should keep the point, Q/C should assist the point with their knockback and prevent the bottom-left exit of the spawn from being used. Both are decent at stopping superbursts, firebug '''with his airburst, and '''Q/C with their knockback, but neither can really stop one for long. Runner '''and '''Rifleman '''have limited use during this phase. '''Runners '''can go up top on the shack and harass anyone on the point and perch, and Rifleman can deal with any long range spam, enemy riflemen, or give some support fire on the higher platforms. Neither really help out the team much and I recommend not playing either class during this, although if forced to I would give preference to '''Runner. Rifleman spam is not rampant on this map anyways since there are so few shots that can be abused. Once you've broken to the point, securing the bottom-left exit is absolutely CRUCIAL if you want to win. Q/C and Constructors '''are the best for the task. Otherwise, you're going to face a lot of detonator spam or firebug rushes, and speaking from experience, I have not seen a single dirtbowl 2 game that has been won without controlling that exit. Once you have someone down there assisting the point, concentrate almost all your firepower upwards at the perch. Make it impossible for any class to drop down on you. Once you do that and the enemy is forced to lob stickies upwards in a futile attempt to stop you, you've essentially won this map. Stage 3 First Point Recommended Team Composition: *2 Healers *Any other class of your choice *No Infiltrators There are two distinct exits at the start of the match. One is near your spawn and starts far from the point, and the second one is much closer to the point but more contested. You will probably need the superburst on this second exit when the gates open, but try not to have everyone go there. Especially be wary of any enemy superbursts going for the healer, since this exit is fair game for the enemy. A single superburst firebug can destroy your entire team if they all choose to use this second exit, so be aware of this risk. The reward obviously is quick access to the enemy. The first point is not particularly difficult to capture. It's similar to the first point of stage 2, but not nearly as frustrating. Once you're on the point, you need to watch out for rifleman and rocketman spam, but deto spam is thankfully mostly ineffective. Again, there are a bunch of hiding spots for infiltrators, so be wary of the infiltrator stab once you get on the point. This point is very similar in style to Stage 2, First point, but not nearly as difficult. Pretty much every class (except for the infiltrator) has a use during this phase that doesn't differ significantly than what has been already described. Second Point Recommended Team Composition: *2 Healers *1 Rocketman *2 Riflemen *1 Overweight *1 Runner The problem with this phase is keeping the point. The enemy spawns directly above you. If you thought the other two maps were bad for firebug rush defenses, you have not seen stage 3's METEOR DEFENSE. METEOR DEFENSE MAY ALSO INCLUDE OVERWEIGHTS, AUTOGUNS, CONSTRUCTORS, ROCKETS, ROCKETMEN, STICKIES, RIFLEMAN BULLETS, AND THE BLUE TEAM. The main problem with ''breaking to the point ''is completely safe rifleman spam. Riflemen can stand just above and spam shots with absolutely no fear of retribution. Rocketmen can also do this, and it's infuriating to fight against. '''2 Riflemen is absolutely a must. Rifleman 'can stop the enemy riflemen from being too much of a nuisance, and can hurt anyone falling down. They are absolutely essential in both ''breaking and keeping the point, and the entire match can be totally dependant on how good your '''riflemen '''are, even more so than the '''healers. Thankfully, only two riflemen can really be effective up there (unless you're on the point, in which case there is a third opening for a rifleman on the left. Be warned: DO NOT SWITCH TO RIFLEMAN IF YOUR TEAM ALREADY HAS TWO. YOU WILL LOSE THE GAME. HE IS A SUPPORT CLASS. The healers '''need to be wary of this rocket and rifleman spam. Use your medibuddy as a shield whenever possible. Most other obstacles are much easier to deal with than this defense. If necessary, take the bottom route, since it's a lot safer, though you will get a lot more action up top and thus faster superbursts. Healing needs to be as efficient as possible, making as much use of the double heal rate as possible to heal offpatients while keeping an eye on their main medibuddy. Aside from the flush mechanism up top, the stage is varied and allows for a lot of freedom of movement. '''Rocketmen '''are as always useful. A skilled '''rocketman '''can actually hit those cubbyholes up top and assist the rifleman with that. The problem with that is that you don't really know if your rockets are doing anything. '''Overweights '''can take a lot of damage from the riflemen and so aren't much hindered by them. '''Q/C and Firebug '''aren't really that necessary on this map to be honest, since there isn't much they can do that an '''Overweight '''or '''Rocketman '''can't do. Of course, if there is a bunch of enemies on the ground instead of up top, '''firebug '''or '''Q/C superbursts are always appreciated. Detonators '''can be useful, but can only really survive underneath without the fear of riflemen stopping them. '''Constructors '''can set up underneath the point and really hold enemies there, but plopping an autogun up top will require your riflemen to stop the enemy riflemen from breaking it. '''Runner '''can be useful, especially for the doubled cap rate, and the open space gives him a lot of room to play around in to the best of his ability, but again, he needs to worry about the rifleman spam. Keeping the point is extremely hard, and you will need to survive several rushes to get through it all. Your riflemen will be key in softening up the enemy before they drop. If you are '''constructor, you'll need that autogun to help assist the point. There's really nothing you can do but superburst and try to live as long as possible, and if you do win it's usually by the skin of your teeth.